The Hindu Business Line : Building urban infrastructure

THERE IS COMPELLING logic to support the Centre's proposal to launch a National Urban Renewal Mission (NURM) to upgrade and modernise urban infrastructure all over the country. With an estimated expenditure component of approximately Rs 1,26,786 crore over a five-year period, such a mission could outdo what the National Democratic Alliance Government's National Highway Development Programme (NHDP), with the first phase allocation of Rs 54,000 crore, did for the economy. The NHDP not only provided a fillip to all those segments of the industry involved in road construction, but also vastly improved connectivity, the benefits of which should soon reflect on economic growth.

That the country's urban infrastructure is crumbling is obvious. India's cities are growing at a rate much faster than the rest of the world, including China's. Mumbai, for instance, had a population of 28 lakh in 1951 and was the 17th largest city. Today, it is the world's sixth largest city with 1.22 crore people and in the next 10 years, it is expected to become the second largest, next only to Tokyo. Also, by 2015, three more Indian cities — Kolkata, New Delhi and Hyderabad — will be among the 30 most populated cities in the world, with the first two making it to the top 12. But official statistics paint a bleak picture of urban living. About 21 per cent of the urban population lives in squatter settlements where access to basic services is abysmal to non-existent. Nearly 46 per cent of urban households have water toilets, but only 28 per cent are connected to the sewerage system. Municipal authorities collect only 60 per cent of the garbage. City roads are extremely congested and fast deteriorating due to excess load, and except for Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi and Chennai none of the Indian cities has a mass rapid transit system. With India aiming to position itself as the global hub for the services sector, upgrading urban infrastructure has become an added imperative.

The social component of the NURM is equally important. The rapid growth of urban population, in spite of better observance of the small family norm, is an indication of the large-scale migration and influx from the rural areas, leading to the creation of large slums in almost every city. It is obvious that city slums reflect urban poverty and the number of slum dwellers has been going up over the years. Addressing their problems and mitigating their plight should be the priority for any government. The Union Government has been prudent in drawing up the NURM. While it is the States that would benefit from urban renewal, the Centre has taken upon itself the major responsibility for financing the initiative, committing 35 per cent funding for mega and big cities and as much as 80 per cent for smaller towns and cities. The States' responsibility is limited to 15 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively, in the two categories. The level of State funding should be well within their scope. But schemes could face a roadblock on the stickier issue of whether it is the States or the Centre which would exercise administrative control. The political leadership should rise above narrow partisan considerations.

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